Birds of Legend
by Liam Pennington
Summary: Linda starts off her new adventure determined, making friends and enemies along her way. But will she get more than she bargained for? Chapter 6 up 23rd, Chapter 7 will come 24th afternoon. REVEIW PLZ, I've written seven chapters and only have one review!
1. Chapter 1: Rocky Start

All that disclaimer jazz:

OK, this is my first fanfic on this site but I've read a couple and just to be safe, I'm doing this.

Linda Stevenson and all other characters in this fanfiction (Besides Misty, and any Nurse Joys, Officer Jennys etc.) belong to me, Liam Pennington, and may not be used without my permission.

---B-I-R-D-S---O-F---L-E-G-E-N-D---

Once upon a time, when the idea of gyms was first being created, the almighty Pokemon master created legendary birds. These birds were made to hold special powers. Little did anyone know what these powers could really do…

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Chapter 1- Rocky Start

RRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIINNNNG!

_Ugh, can I just have like five minutes plea- oh wait!_ The girl jumped up from her bed.

"Oh no- What time is it?" she squealed.

"Linda! Breakfast is ready!" shouted a man's voice from downstairs.

Linda froze with a horrified look on her face. _Alright, it's ok. I just have to get ready… like right now_. She jumped in the shower and quickly washed herself, ran out of the bathroom and threw on the clothes for her day. She quickly fixed her hair and threw on make up. _Late and beautiful is better than early and ugly_.

She examined herself in the full length mirror. Her bright wavy blonde hair which stuck out at the end above her shoulders wobbled as she turned her head. Her pretty face was accentuated by bright lime green eyes and long eyelashes and was outlined by long, side swept bangs and a windows peak. She smiled at her trainer-like appearance. Her attire consisted of a pink casual dress with a white blouse over the top, sandals and white gloves. She was ready to take on the world!

"LINDA STEVENSON! COME DOWN NOW!"

Linda jumped. _Better get down there._

"Now Linda, promise to be careful ok?" Linda's mother said nervously after breakfast. Her parents were seeing her off to go to the lab.

"Oh Mom, relax will ya? I can handle anything that comes my way."

"Make lots of friends dear," said her father calmly.

"I will, Dad!"

"I have a few things for you Linda, so before you leave New Bark town, be sure to stop by!"

Linda was already running off. "Will do!" she called back. She kept running and running, past the mart, past the Pokemon Center, _OK, just one more block unti_- SLAM!

"Oh, ow…" Linda sat on the ground holder her head. Someone running around the other corner smacked into her. She got up groggily. "Oh, sorry I wasn't looking where I was go- Professor?"

Professor Elm sat on the ground, Lab coat covered in black dust and scratches on his face. "Oh… Linda….. The lab…..… it……………I……" He fell unconscious in the middle of the sidewalk. "Oh no… what did I do? Oh I'm so STUPID."

"Nice going, blondie!"

Linda recognized the voice. "Ugh, Jorie what do you want? I'm KINDA busy right now."

The other girl smirked. Her dark brown bangs fell across her heavily made up face, covering one eye. In the back it fell half way down her spine. Her dark brown eyes glared at Linda. She wore a black tank top and a tan skirt. "I was just wondering why you decided to just knock out poor Professor Elm. Planning to steal all the Pokemon are we?"

"I didn't cause this!" Linda stammered gesturing at Professor Elm lying on the sidewalk near her. "Well, not on purpose! I was running and then-"

But Jorie interrupted. "Yeah sure…" she snapped sarcastically. "What's that on his coat? You didn't try to burn the evidence did you?"

"Oh shut UP! I don't know why that's th- huh?" Linda suddenly stopped and looked down the street she was about to walk down. In the distance was the Pokemon lab, on fire! "Oh no!" shrieked Linda. She took off in a sprint to the lab. Some other people were gathering at the spectacle.

"Linda!" said a woman's voice. It was her aunt, Misty. She moved to New Bark Town with her sister, Daisy, Linda's mom, when they were younger.

"Misty! Do you know what happened?"

"I think so… Some jerk ran in and stole all three Pokemon that were supposed to be given out today. I'm assuming he used the Cyndaquill to burn down the lab so he could make a clean exit. I'm sorry Linda… I know you were so looking forward to getting your first Pokemon today…"

"You mean I can't…." Linda's horrified expression said what she failed to complete. "And the lab… all that work… why would someone do that?"

"I don't know. I wish I could help, but I better just leave it to the Squirtle Squad. All my old water Pokemon are at the gym with Violet."

"Aww… well now what should I do? I can't catch any Pokemon without one to start out with." Linda sighed. "OH CRAP, THE PROFESSOR!" she suddenly shouted, startling Misty.

"What?" Misty asked. "What happened to the professor?"

"I was running and I knocked into him. He's unconscious over there! Will you help me carry him to the Pokemon Center? I bet we can get some help there."

Misty nodded. The two ran down the sun scorched sidewalk flying by all the confused pedestrians. When they reached the corner, instead of the Professor, they saw a note.

Misty looked confused. "Is this where he was?" she asked, looking around.

Linda just nodded and picked up the note. It was in magazine cut-out letters.

Linda read it aloud. "dONt bOtheR LookINg foR eLM, i HaVE TAKen HiM. ThanKS, BLondE GirL Who KnOcKeD InTO hIM, hE Was TRyiNg TO run, bUT YoU StoPPeD Him"

"Oh no! That must be what he was trying to tell me before he went unconscious!" Linda said sadly. "Oh, this is all _my_ fault."

Misty put her arm around Linda. "Don't worry Lin, I'm sure Elm will be found. I'm going to go back, I think I can help." Misty said with a grin. She jogged back to her house near the lab.

Linda frowned and sat on the ground gloomily. A rude voice rang out from behind her. "Well I'd say 'oh, it's not your fault'… but it is."

Jorie stepped out in the corner by Linda. "Luckily, I got MY Pokemon before that whole incident happened."

"Joy" said Linda with a sad and sarcastic tone. She suddenly stood up, determined. "You know what Jorie? I bet I can beat you to getting all the badges anyway. AND I'll find Professor Elm, rescue all the stolen Pokemon and teach a lesson to whoever stole them."

Jorie smirked and raised an eyebrow. "You think so? Fine then, you're on. Later, blondie"

Linda shot a glare at her as she walked off, toward Cherrygrove City. _Well before I do all that_... _I need a Pokemon_. She sat back down. _Oh well, might as well go home for now_.

"Linda wait!" shouted Misty's voice from a distance. "I have something for you!"

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In Chapter 2- Linda gets her first Pokemon and finds an unexpected friend. She learns of an ambitious tournament as well…


	2. Chapter 2: New Friend, Old Rival

Chapter 2- Better Late than Never

"Linda wait!" shouted Misty's voice from a distance. "I have something for you!"

Linda glanced over her shoulder at Misty. The red head was running down the sidewalk towards Linda. She caught her breath for a moment then looked at Linda. "I found this for you!"

Misty held out her hand and in it was a Pokeball.

"Oh wow!" exclaimed Linda. "Oh, I can't tell you how much I owe you! What's inside?"

"Find out for yourself," said Misty cheerfully, handing Linda the Pokeball. She tossed it in front of her.

"Hor-seeeeeeeeaaaaa!" squeaked the Horsea. "It's not your every day starter Pokemon, but I hope you like it" said Misty.

Linda jumped up and gave the Horsea a hug. "Oh Misty, thank you!"

Misty smiled. "Here, take this too. Having your hair down could be… a nuisance. I traveled all over the world with this, and it never ever fell out."

Linda giggled and pulled her hair back into a short ponytail that stuck up at the end. It didn't catch her bangs, but they just hung to the side of her face and didn't bother her. Linda pulled out a small mirror from her knap sack and examined herself.

"Now you're looking like a trainer!" joked Misty. "Your parents wanted me to give these to you too."

Misty pulled out some things from her pocket. There were two earrings that glinted with gold light. On each side was a small gold star dangling from short, thin chains. "Your mom wore these when she caught her first Pokemon. She wanted you to as well."

Linda put on the earrings. "Oh, they're so pretty…" admired Linda.

"Well, I'm not one for earrings, but yeah" said Misty. "Your dad gave me these to give to you."

She pulled out 5 luxury balls. "Your dad, Kurt, made these for you. Pokemon dream to be caught in one of these babies."

Linda put them in her knap sack. "Thanks for everything, Misty! Tell my parents thanks too."

"Will do."

"Bye!" Linda was already running off, excited for her new adventure.

"Good Luck!" called Misty out after her, but Linda could barely hear her.

Misty shook her head. _I wonder if Ash was so excited when he left Pallet Town_.

Linda slowed to a walk. She was beginning to get lost. She looked around her. Everywhere were trees, trees and more trees. Suddenly, she lost her balance and tripped over something.

"Whoa!" screamed Linda as she fell into the dirt path. "Oh…ow…" she looked back at what she tripped on. There was nothing but a patch of grass. "Huh?" Linda saw the grass quiver, like it was scared. She knelt down and started digging. She heard a muffled cry of a Pokemon. "mmdsh… mmmdsh."

"Horsea!" she said. "I choose you! Use a gentle water gun and uncover that Pokemon!"

"Sea! Sea!" said Horsea. It squirted the Pokemon, spraying off all the dirt.

"Oh my god!" It was an Oddish. Someone buried it! "Oh hey little guy! Who would do such a thing to you?" The Oddish looked scared and hurt. "I better take you to a Pokemon Center, right away!"

Linda picked up the Oddish and held it close as she ran as fast as she could through the winding path until she saw a city. Not bothering to look around at all, she ran until she reached the Pokemon Center. She burst in the door and went up to the front desk. "Excuse me… Nurse Joy?" Linda said between heavy breaths. "I have… a Pokemon…"

"Take it easy miss" said Nurse Joy. Linda took a moment to catch her breath. "I found this Oddish on the path to here from New Bark Town. Someone buried it in the dirt!"

"Oh my." Nurse Joy shook her head. "Trainers these days… they think they can just abandon these poor Pokemon left and right."

Linda nodded. "Can you help it?" she asked.

"Yes, I believe so. I think I just need to fix a few scratches, then it just needs some rest and some fresh air. Sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Oh, I'm Linda" said Linda.

"Well it's good to meet you Linda. I'll you when the Oddish is fully healed."

Linda nodded and sat down on a chair near the desk. After a while, Joy came back with the Oddish. "Linda?" said the nurse, "Your Oddish is ready to go!"

"Oh thank you! But it's not my Oddish…"

"Well why don't you keep it? Obviously its previous trainer didn't want it. Besides, it's still a bit scared and probably can't handle the open yet."

"How about it, Oddish? Want to come with me on my journey?"

"Oddish Odd!" said the Oddish

"Sound's like a yes to me" said Nurse Joy cheerfully.

"Alright!" Linda jumped did a peace sign to no one in particular. "I think I'll name you… Belle."

"Say, I have an idea" said Nurse Joy. "Why don't you and your new Oddish enter the Blossom Tournament?"

"What's that?" asked Linda.

"It's a tournament held in Cherrygrove City once a year. They hold it in honor of the cherry blossoms growing, meaning cherries are soon to come. You enter two Pokemon, and you get assigned a partner with his or her own two Pokemon. Together, you two double battle two opponents and work your way up the draw. You have two Pokemon don't you?"

Linda nodded. "That sounds fun! Plus, I can make a new friend."

Joy smiled. "Well good luck. I'll be rooting for you! You sign up in that building across the street."

"Thanks for everything Nurse Joy" said Linda, and with that she walked in a room Nurse Joy said she could stay in.

"Okay Belle, get in your Pokeball." Linda said to her new Oddish. "Oddish Odd!" Oddish looked at her frantically.

"Oh, I guess you developed claustrophobia. Can't really blame you for that one. Well then, you can just stay out with me! It's good to have company anyway" said Linda cheerfully. Belle immediately relaxed, and as soon as they both lied down, they fell into a deep slumber.

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"Okay, let's go sign up!" said Linda cheerfully as she woke up the next morning.

Linda and Belle walked in a large room made of marble. At the back of the room were several tables lined up in a row with, Linda guessed, about 13 clipboards. She walked up to one and read it:

**REGSTRATION FORM:**

**All entrants must be between the ages of 11 and 18. To enter, you also must enter 2 Pokemon. Please fill out the form below. If you have no desired partner, simply put "none" for desired partner. At the bottom, please clip a picture of yourself. If you don't have one handy, there should be cameras near the clip board.**

Linda picked up a pen from her knapsack and began to look down the form. It was like the usual form. Name, Age, Gender, Height, Weight, Hair Color. Linda hesitated. Hair color? _Whatever, maybe its some sort of partners matching strategy or something._ She began filling it out

**NAME: **Linda

**AGE: **14

**GENDER: **Female

**HEIGHT: ** 5'5"

**WEIGHT: **115 lbs

**HAIR COLOR: **Blonde

**EYE COLOR: **Green

**HOME TOWN: **New Bark Town

**Pokemon (M/F): **Horsea (M) and Oddish (F)

**DESIRED PARTNER: **None

Linda then took a wallet sized picture of herself from her knapsack and paper clipped it to the registration form. She looked around to see two mean collecting the forms in a large box. She walked up to them and put it in the box.

"Excuse me?" asked Linda to one of the men.

"Yes, miss?"

"Do you know when the tournament is supposed to start?"

"Well, the opening ceremony is tonight in Cherrygrove Stadium. Then, after the ceremony, the competitors are introduced to their partners, and are given a dorm room. The tournament starts tomorrow."

"Oh thanks," Linda said cheerfully. "Where's the Cherrygrove Stadium?"

"It's on an island just off of the City. You can get there by ferry that leaves once every hour on the hour."

"Oh, okay. Thanks for everything."

"That's what I'm here for," said the man, smiling.

Linda and Belle walked outside. "Well Belle, I have the whole day to explore. What should we do?"

A voice from behind her answered. "Well, you could battle me, but I don't know why you'd even try." Linda turned. _Ugh, oh great. It's Jorie_.

"Jorie! Fine then, you wanna battle? Bring it on!"

Jorie smirked. "I have an idea. Why don't we practice our double battle skills? We need it for the tournament."

Linda frowned. "You-… You're in it too?"

"Of course I am. This tournament is world famous, you should know that Linda. Why else would I come to this ugly, dingy little town?"

Unfortunately for Jorie, a group of citizens walked by as she spoke.

"Dingy! I wouldn't be talking!" a boy who looked about 17 said.

"Yeah, you wanna mess with the 'dingy' members of this oh so ugly town?" piped in another one. Jorie backed away nervously.

Linda suddenly became aware that several more, in fact she guessed about thirty people were all surrounding them. She snapped back into reality when someone called out to her.

"Hey, pretty girl with the blonde ponytail! Kick her butt!" Several others chimed in, cheering for Linda. Linda blushed.

"Fine, ready to battle blondie?" snapped Jorie, trying not to look scared of the two who yelled at her. Linda nodded. A man from the crowd stepped into the circle.

"I'll be happy to judge this battle. You want a double battle right? OK folks, this will be a 2 on 2 battle, no time limit."

Jorie reached in her pocket. "Go! Blaze and Zach!" she yelled, tossing two Pokeballs into the air. Out popped a Torchic and an Elekid.

"Torchic- Tor!"

"Elekid!"

Linda took a deep breath. "Let's do it Horsea and Belle!" Belle walked up nervously, and Linda threw out the Pokeball containing Horsea.

"Seaa!"

"OddISH!"

"Begin!" shouted the man. The crowd was going nuts around the three of them.

Jorie seemed to know what she was doing. "So you have an Oddish, eh Linda? I caught one on the way here but I didn't want mine. Instead I buried it"

"So it was you that buried Belle! How could you do such a thing to her?"

"Meh, it bugged me. But enough talk! Blaze, use ember on that Oddish!"

"Belle! Dodge and use… uh… Sleep Powder?" Linda had never battled before now.

The Oddish jumped out of the way, but hesitated. "Odd!" Belle let out a green powder from its grassy head. It hit! But Jorie was taking advantage of the situation. "Zach, use Thundershock!"

It was a direct hit. Linda froze. That was a critical hit. "Horsea, are you ok?"

"Hor-SEA!" shouted Horsea.

"Yeah! Ok, use water gun on that Torchic!"

Horsea jumped and used water gun. Critical hit! Torchic fainted. Jorie looked angry. "Ugh, return then." Torchic returned to Jorie's Pokeball. The crowd let out a loud cheer for Linda. "Elekid, use scratch!"

"Tackle it Horsea!"

Elekid jumped up from the paved road and its claw started glowing. Horsea tried to dodge and tackle, but the claws hit their mark.

"Oh no!" Linda shrieked. "It's ok Horsea, you did well. Have a good rest. Belle, use Sweet Scent!"

"Odd!" Belle shook its leaves and out came an extremely sweet smelling powder. But the powder was let out too much! A pink scent drifted off not only to Elekid, but then to Jorie and the judge!

Linda caught a whiff of it too. She smiled. _So sweet…_ Linda glanced at the judge. He had fainted! Jorie was sitting, holding her head. Various people in the crowd were looking dizzy as well, several fainted.

"Wha… Who…?" Linda fell unconscious, her last glimpse was of the cherry trees in the distance, blowing and sending off blossoms.

In Chapter 3- Linda enters the tournament and meets her partner


	3. Chapter 3: Partners

Chapter 3- Partners

"Linda?"

"grnmmrshmrm"

"Linda? Hello? Anyone there?"

Linda gently opened her eyes, finding herself looking straight at Nurse Joy, the one who helped her with Belle.

"Nurse Joy? What happened? Where am I? What time is it?"

"Well, you, a Pokemon, and thirty-one other people just passed out in the middle of the street about 6 and a half hours ago. Belle was sitting in the middle of it all. You're in the Pokemon Center now and it is 5:00"

Linda's memory was returning. "Oh, the sweet scent."

"Yes, I could tell from the clothes. But not just any Sweet Scent. You see, Belle has this special ability. I've seen it one or two times before, but never here in Johto. You are very lucky."

Linda looked at her blankly. "Ability?"

"Yes. You see, when a grass Pokemon such as Belle learns moves such as Poison Powder and Sweet Scent, the special powders for these moves are stored in the Pokemon's body. Belle has this ability called Spore Blend, which is very rare. It mixes up two or more powders, and blends them into one.

"So that's why when I used Sleep Powder on that Torchic, it fainted so quickly from Horsea. It was asleep _and_ poisoned."

"Probably paralyzed and stunned by the sweet scent as well."

"Wow, that's amazing. Wait- what time is it?"

"Five"

"Oh no! I'm going to be late for the opening ceremony!"

Joy smiled. "Well, your Oddish is in the Lobby. I took the liberty of healing it and your Horsea."

"Oh, thanks Nurse Joy! Well, I'll go get them now."

Linda quickly got up, picked up her backpack and walked out of the room. She went to the front desk of the lobby and saw Belle there.

"Oddish Odd!"

"Hey there, Belle. What's that you got there?" Belle handed Linda a Pokeball. "Oh that must be Horsea! Well good, that's everyone, better get going now."

She quickly ran to the edge of the city, then ran across the port and jumped on the boat.

_Phew, finally I made it to the Stadium_ Linda thought. She ran for a long time looking for it, but she found it. She was standing at the NE entrance, with 15 other kids, ranging between 11 and 18. At the head of the line was a huge security guard.

"Hey you! You're Oddish needs to be in a Pokeball."

"But, she's-"

"I don't care! Just do it!"

Linda thought for a moment. "Hey I know! Here Belle." Linda opened her knapsack. Belle immediately understood and hopped in. "I'll get you out of there as soon as possible, ok?"

"Oddish Odd!" said Belle cheerfully.

After about 3 minutes, the line walked in. Linda could see Jorie walking in from the NW entrance. She turned and saw Linda, gave her a sneer and looked forward again. Linda sighed _Hopefully, I am NOT partners with her._

The ceremony began, all four lines now lined up in four columns in the middle of the stadium. There was a stage in front of them.

An old man walked on stage. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Blossom Tournament!"

The crowd and trainers around Linda erupted in cheering, including, to Linda's surprise, Jorie. The man continued. "We hold this tournament every year to commemorate the beautiful blossoms of Cherrygrove City's cherry trees. Well without further ado, let's begin the ceremonies!"

_Oh blah, blah, blah_ thought Linda impatiently. _Let's get to the point here_.

After the man (who turned out to be Cherrygrove City's mayor and founder of the tournament) finished his speech, all the trainers walked up on stage and sat down.

The festivities began. There were acrobats, dancers, singers, Pokemon tricks, and best of all, FOOD! Linda dug in as all the food was brought to her and the other trainers. She even was able to sneak a few things to Belle. _Man, this is a WAY bigger deal than I thought._

After the ceremony, the trainers were taken back in their lines out of the stadium, into a large building. Inside was a large room with four red carpets, where the four lines of trainers stood. At the back of the room was the box of registration forms Linda saw the men from that morning holding.

A tall, black haired woman was at a small wood podium near the box. "Hello, trainers and welcome to the Blossom Tournament. I'm here to introduce your partners, and then show you to the dorms. Okay, here we go." Her voice was kind of strict and firm.

She kept reading the names out loud. _This is taking forever_ thought Linda. She was tired from eating so much food at the ceremony, and wanted to go to bed.

"Robert Landing and Winthrop McGilligan

Alexis Hess and Herman Smith

Matt Raleigh and Linda Stevenson

Jorie Morrison and Taylor Bone"

Linda had blanked out her voice so much that she didn't notice until Jorie hit her as she walked by, as if saying _Hello? What the hell are you doing?_ Linda quickly walked behind the other seven people who were called. She lined up with a tall boy about her age with shiny brown hair that went to his eyebrows in the front in spiky bangs. He had a remarkably sparkling blue in his eyes. He wore a cerulean colored blue T-shirt over a turquoise long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up a bit. He had on cargo pants, black fingerless gloves and cargo pants with black trainers. He wore a shiny silver ring on a short twiny string around his neck.

"Now, I'm going to make sure you are who you say. This is for security reasons. Okay, lets start with you two." She went down the people until she came to Linda. "Okay, what's your name?"

"Linda Stevenson"

"How old are you?"

"Fourteen"

"How tall are you?"

"Five foot Five"

"Which Pokemon are you using?"

"Horsea and Oddish"

"Ah yes… the girl who made the whole crowd pass out this morning, yes?"

Linda turned bright red, "Ye…yeah" _How does everyone know about that?_ The boy next to Linda tried to hide a chuckle and Jorie smirked at her.

"Okay, you're good. Okay, what's _your _name?" she turned to the boy.

"Matt Raleigh" he said

"How old are you?"

"Almost fifteen"

"So fourteen?" she snapped a bit sarcastically.

The boy, Matt, turned pink a bit, feeling like he said something stupid. "Yeah."

"How tall are you?"

"About five ten"

"Which Pokemon did you choose?"

"Eevee and Mareep."

"Okay, next. What's your name?"

Matt sighed with relief. _She scares me_, he mouthed to Linda, smiling.

Linda giggled. _Me too_ she mouthed back.

Eventually, everyone had met their partners and were shown to their rooms. The woman led the eight from before down the path of doors. Her and Matt were room 22.

"Well here we are. The rooms are very clean and nice, so _try_ not to get them dirty. There are two bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room."

Linda looked around. _Pretty nice facilities, they got here_. _This tournament really is big_.

"Oh" the woman said "There's only one bedroom, but the couch pulls out into a bed." She started walking out then turned one final look at Matt and Linda. "If you need it." With that she closed the door.

Matt let out a big sigh. "Oh, thank _god_ she's gone. She's kinda creepy."

Linda laughed. "Kinda?"

Matt laughed with her. "I wonder what she meant by 'if we need it.' We just met, we're not gonna sleep in the same bed."

Linda nodded. "Well, we should unpack now. We have a big day tomorr-" she stopped. "Crap! I forgot about Belle!"

Matt looked at her blankly. "Who's Belle?"

Linda quickly unzipped her knapsack.

"Odd…" Belle looked tired.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Linda hugged Belle tight. Belle didn't seem to be bothered though, so Linda put her down.

Matt still looked confused. "Does she not like Pokeballs?"

"She's kinda… claustrophobic. You see, a girl from my town, Jorie, buried this poor little thing in the ground, with only its grass-head poking out! So needless to say, enclosed spaces bug her."

"Wow, that's awful! What a jerk," said Matt. "Well, let me introduce you to my Pokemon!" Matt pulled out two Pokeballs from his pocket. "Go Sadie! Go Mareep!"

A groomed Eevee popped out and a happy looking Mareep appeared next to her. Sadie and Belle made friends quickly, then went to sleep on a large chair in the living room. Mareep soon joined them. Linda sent out Horsea and soon, he joined the other three.

"Well, let's go unpack" said Linda.

Matt nodded. "You can have the bedroom; I'll take the pullout bed."

"Wow, are you sure?"

"Oh, it's no problem."

"Oh, how sweet. Thanks!"

"Your welcome."

Linda walked in and looked around at the bedroom. There was a queen bed with red hearts on the bedspread. On the wall above the bed were the letters L O V E in polished brass. Normally, Linda would have raised an eyebrow, but she only had enough energy to unpack her clothes, lie down and go to sleep.

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In Chapter 4- Linda and Matt discover strange hints that seem to be popping up all over the place and they have their first match.


	4. Chapter 4: A Loving Accusation

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Chapter 4- A Loving Accusation

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Linda opened her eyes drearily. _Where am I? Oh yeah, Belle's special ability, opening ceremony, Matt, creepy woman, bed with L O V E at the top… got it_. Linda looked up at her last thought. _Did they give us some kind of honeymoon suite or something?_

She walked into the living room. Now that she had had a good night sleep, she was able to look around a bit. It _did_ look like a honeymoon suite. The couch had a heart-like back rest, and there were several seats barely big enough for two people, if they were close together. There were dim, pinkish lights and candles all over the room, with a cozy fireplace in the corner.

"M…Matt? Does something seem weird about this room to you?" she asked.

Matt was still snoozing away on the pull out bed. Linda shrugged and made herself a bowl of cereal and some toast.

Later that day, after Matt had finally woken up, Linda brought up the room again. They were sitting at lunch at a restaurant near their building, free for all trainers in the tournament. Matt was chowing down on a sandwich.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, it does seem that way" said Matt through bites of his sandwich.

"It is weird that they'd have a room like that, because the tournament is only for age 11-18," said Linda.

"Maybe for a teenage couple who wanted to be together?" he suggested.

"That would be sweet, but why would they put us there then?"

"Good point" said Matt. "But whatever, who cares? It's probably nicer a room than any other contestants get. We have to worry about our first match now. I think we should start out with Horsea and Mareep, for a strong offensive force."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," said Linda, looking down at her food. _He seems to know a lot about battling._ Linda sighed. The whole lover's suite thing was still bugging her. "Say Matt," she added. "Have you entered the Blossom Tournament before?"

Matt chuckled a little bit. "No but my sister entered it before. She was very determined to teach me all about battling before I came here. Most people from Cherrygrove City call it the B-Tourney."

"Oh, okay" said Linda. "I didn't know you had a sister."

"Yeah, she's very much older than me though. Her name's Whitney, she's almost 27 now. She's the gym leader in Goldenrod City."

"You mean, _the_ Whitney of Goldenrod Gym!" Linda sounded shocked.

Matt smiled. "So you've heard of her."

"Yeah, of course! Did she win the tournament?"

"No. But she's still pretty famous all right. Everybody likes her."

_Wow, no wonder he knows so much about battling_. Linda thought. "Well don't be thinking you are the only one. My aunt is Misty, of the Cerulean Gym."

"Wow, really? That's cool." Matt stood up. "I wonder who battles us. Well, we better go check the draws. We wanna think up a good strategy right? This is our first battle together, let's make it count!"

Linda smiled. "Yeah!"

------

But not far away from the optimistic team, trouble was brewing.

A girl with was sitting at a table nearby, with a newspaper to disguise her. She had on a dark red beanie with a white stripe at the bottom, with a hole messily cut in the back for a jet black ponytail. She had on a dark red T-shirt with khaki capris. Unfitting to the rest of her, she had a gold heart shaped locket around her neck. The jet black bangs fell over her pretty dark black eyes, but the only visible part of her to others were her black painted fingernails and black fingerless gloves.

"Elite 568, you there?" a deep voice came through an earphone in her ear.

"Hm?" the girl answered through a tiny mic hidden in her shirt.

"Make sure you pick up on _every_ detail of their conversation. For this plan to work, we need proof of our… heh… accusations."

The girl smiled. "Yes, I'm on it." She sounded diligent but really, she was rather bored. She began listening again.

"…Maybe for a teenage couple who wanted to be together?"

"Yeah, but why would they put us there then?"

The girl chuckled. They had noticed. Behind her newspaper was a laptop, a state-of-the-art piece of equipment full of useful features, such as writing down anything words it hears, and labeling its voice "boy" or "girl."

_Working for Team Sand sure has its advantages_ the girl thought. _But still, I miss him…_ The girl stopped and composed herself. She needed to be listening.

"…name's Whitney. She's almost 27 now…"

_Ah yes, his oh so great sister,_ thought the girl. _Don't worry cutie, you'll be more like her than you know_. She smiled and looked down into her bag. There was a bottle of dye, a camera. a portable photo printer, and the CD case of a digital editing program. She went though her plan a couple times in her head, then listened in again.

"...check the draws. We wanna think up a good strategy right? This is our first battle together. Let's make it count!"

"Yeah!"

That was her cue to go. Everything was going according to plan.

---------

"Hmmm…" said Matt, looking at the draw. They were to play two boys named Andy and Lenny. Andy had a Rattata and a Butterfree, and Lenny had a Goldeen and a Pidgey.

"Well the Goldeen should be easy," said Matt. "We have a Grass element and Electric Element on our side."

Linda nodded. "And that Butterfree will be simple, it's just a bug Pokemon."

"Yeah," Matt agreed. "But that Rattata worries me. It's very fast and has a high attack power. But it has low HP and defense, so if we can manage to strike first, it will faint quickly."

Linda smiled. "Looks like we have a strategy. I'm gonna go take a shower, and you probably should too. Don't want to be gross for our first match, do we?"

"I guess not" said Matt.

Linda and Matt made there way back to their room. Linda let Matt shower first, since she knew she would take longer. She watched a few Elite Four matches on TV, and then saw Matt walk in the room with just some pants on with wet hair.

"Your turn" he said, putting on his shirt. Linda nodded and went to take a shower. In the master bathroom, there was a large marble shower, with 3 shower heads! _Ahhhhh…_ Linda thought. She had always liked showers. After she got out, dried off and got dressed she walked back out to see Matt ready to go. But something was different.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Wow, Matt, what did you do to your hair?"

He gave her a puzzled look. His hair had changed to a soft light brown to a rich orange-reddish color. It made his sparkling eyes look even bluer.

"Did you dye it red? I kinda like it. Kind of a strange time to do that though" she said.

"I didn't dye it red…" he said. He turned to a mirror. "WHAT THE?" he touched his head, then pulled down his bangs in front of his eyes. Sure enough, they were red.

"You mean you didn't dye it red?"

"No! What is in that shampoo!"

Matt ran to the bathroom and examined the bottle. "That's so weird. Did you use thi- oh!"

Linda raised her eyebrow. "What? What is it?"

"Look in the mirror."

Linda looked. "EEEEK!" she screamed. Her hair had also gone to the same orange-red color. "My hair! My blonde, blonde hair!"

"Well this is gonna look weird" said Matt. "Two teens become partners and decide to dye their hair the same color? And worst of all, red."

"What's wrong with red?"

"Well, ever since my sister became gym leader, everyone else always figured I would follow in her footsteps, you know, try to be like her. But I wanted my own life, so I tried to avoid situations that made it look like I wanted to be exactly like she was," Matt sighed. "Now everyone will just think I'm trying to get publicity from looking like her. We look very similar, except for the hair. Well, now including the hair."

Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door. "'Matt and Linda' your match is in two hours. Please meet at Arena 5 at 6:00 sharp."

---------

"Excellent"

The girl with black hair had just finished copying her article. She proofread it one more time, to see how it looked on paper.

_A Couple of Redheads_

_Matt Raleigh, brother of Whitney of Goldenrod City and Linda Stevenson, niece of Misty of Cerulean City were paired up for this years B-Tourney. When they met, they knew they were destined to be together. It's hard not to love these two's enthusiasm as they are interviewed about each other and the match ahead._

"_Maybe for a teenage couple like us, it does seem like we just wanna be together, but we are still determined to win" says the couple. _

_When interviewing Matt he said "she is very pretty and determined. I like that." Linda mirrored his praise saying "he is strong and so sweet he would win the tournament for me."_

_It's clear that we can expect bit things from these two. They both even dyed there hair red 1) to try to be like their famous relatives and 2) to show their feelings for each other. Now if that isn't the sweetest thing you've ever heard, then come to their match and you can see them for your own eyes._

_Written by an anonymous author _

The girl smiled. She tucked it away in her bag and walked out of the small room she was in to go find her boss. Suddenly her earphone went off.

"Jade? Umm... Come in, and all that stuff."

_Ugh, why does my little brother always bother me at a time like this?_

"What is it? And I told you not to call me by my name, we can't reveal our identity or else people will think we're spies."

"Fine, sorry… But boss says to come down with that article now."

"I'm on my way. Do you have those pictures done?"

"Yes."

"Good boy. I'll be right there."

-----------

Matt tried washing his hair out for the umpteenth time.

"That's not gonna work, I don't think" said Linda.

Matt sighed and sunk to the floor. "I know… I just wish I could do something.

"Why don't we go to a hair salon in town and dye it back to our normal hair color?" suggested Linda.

"We can't go outside Tournament campus, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Well, we'll just have to stick it out. But I wonder… why did the shampoo dye our hair red? Did someone plant dye in it or something?"

"Who would wanna do that?" said Matt skeptically.

"Well, that Jorie Morrison sure would. But only we, and probably the staff of the tournament, have a key."

"You don't think…."

"No, no, not the creepy lady. But maybe… I don't know. But let's just forget about it now. Our match is soon. We should get going."

Matt nodded and got up. The two walked out of the door, wondering what to expect next.

---------

Okay I lied, they didn't have their first match yet- but they will!

Next: Linda and Matt have their first match and learn of the devious speculations against them by Jade. Who is this Jade, and why is she so secretive? Find out in Chapter Five!


	5. Chapter 5: Perfect Match

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Chapter 5- Perfect Match

-----------------------------------

Linda and Matt were sitting in a small, empty room with two chairs, which they sat in. The girl that brought them in to the room firmly told them that as soon as their name was called, they were to come out of the room, and they would be on their side of the battlefield. But for now, they had to wait patiently.

"Hey Linda?" said Matt all of the sudden.

"Yeah?"

"Did that girl who brought us here look familiar?" Matt had been trying to guess where he had seen her from.

"No not really" said Linda. "She seemed to be our age though, so it's odd that she works at this tournament. Maybe it's just a part-time job."

"Yeah maybe…" it was still bothering him that she looked familiar.

Suddenly the two could hear a loud voice come over loudspeakers.

"**Ladies and gentlemen let me welcome you to the Arena 5 1st round match. As many of you know, this match is a four on four battle, each of the four trainers using two Pokemon, one at a time in a two on two battle. Now let's introduce our contestants shall we?**"

Linda could hear loud cheers from the crowd. "Wow it sounds like a lot of people are here. It's only the first round…"

Matt nodded. "It seems like a lot more people than the other first round matches. Maybe we're playing a well known team."

The announcer continued. "**On the right we have Andy and Lenny, two new Pokemon trainers from Viridian City in Kanto. And on this side, we have Linda from New Bark Town, and Matt from our very own Cherrygrove City**."

Matt opened the door and the two walked out. Under the bright lights of the stadium was a large Pokemon arena. On the other side was the seventeen year old boy Linda remembered from watching her battle with Jorie, and a boy that looked like a 12-year-old version of him. _Probably brothers _thought Linda. From all around, Linda could hear cheering. Voices echoed toward her and Matt.

"Go get 'em, cutie!" shouted a girl's voice, looking at Matt. He blushed and looked down. Other voices were ringing out.

"You got this, guys!" "Whup 'em!" "Hit one for me, hottie!" shouted three teenage boys from a few rows up. It was Linda's turn to blush.

"**Trainers call out your Pokemon!**" said the announcer. Matt and Linda nodded to each other.

"Go Horsea!" shouted Linda.

"I choose, Mareep!" yelled Matt.

The older boy called out a Rattata and the younger one a Goldeen.

"**This is a double battle with four Pokemon for each team. It will be Linda's Horsea and Matt's Mareep vs. Andy's Rattata and Lenny's Goldeen. Battle begin!**"

"Rattata, use Hyper Fang!" shouted Andy.

"Quick Horsea, counter it with Water Gun!" yelled Linda.

Rattata's large teeth began to glow dangerously as it charged toward Horsea. Horsea quickly jumped and shot a Water Gun and missed.

"_Now" _Linda whispered to Matt. He nodded.

"Mareep, Spark attack on Rattata!"

"Ratta?" The Rattata seemed confused. Mareep's spark hit dead on, knocking it far on it's back.

"**Rattata is unable to battle. Matt gets three KO points**."

_Huh?_ Thought Linda. She didn't remember anything about KO points. _Whatever, just focus_. She told herself.

The older boy, Andy, called back his Rattata, sending out a Butterfree. Lenny seemed to be taking this time to his advantage. "Goldeen, use Horn Attack!"

Goldeen charged at Mareep furiously.

"Mareep!" Matt shouted but didn't have enough time. That attack hit straight on.

"Defend it Horsea! Use Bubble!"

Horsea shot out bubbles which floated around Goldeen and hit her, causing minimal damage.

"You have a type advantage Mareep, use Spark again!"

"Butterfree, get that Horsea!"

"Horsea, use tackle!"

Butterfree flew across and darted at Horsea, but Horsea was too quick. It dodged it and tackled Butterfree. Meanwhile, Mareep kept trying to spark Goldeen but ended up getting hit by another Horn Attack.

"Mareep, hang in there! Try a take down attack!"

Mareep struggled to get up, but did and charged at Goldeen, smacking a critical hit.

"Yeah! Nice job Mareep!" Matt jumped in the air happily.

The crowd was cheering frantically. The chanting of "Mareep! Mareep! Mareep!" filled the ears of the entire stadium. Goldeen was lying on the ground motionless. Horsea and Butterfree were in a tackle fest.

"**Goldeen is unable to battle. Matt gets another KO point**."

Linda gave the announcer a puzzled look, but continued. "Horsea hang in there! Spray it with Water Gun, and then tackle it again!"

The young trainer pulled out another Pokeball. "Go for it Pidgey!"

A large Pidgey popped out.

"Quick Mareep, you have the advantage again! Use Thundershock!"

Horsea had finally landed a sharp tackle. Butterfree, basically giving up, plopped on the ground.

"**Butterfree is unable to battle. Linda gets a KO point**."

_Now all that's left is Pidgey_

Mareep's Thundershock landed head-on, knocking Pidgey to the ground, paralyzed.

"Tackle it Horsea, finish this!" shouted Linda.

"Sea!" shouted Horsea. It lunged and slammed into Pidgey. Knocking it back near the trainer.

"**Pidgey is unable to battle. Linda gets another point. Matt and Linda are our winners! And the also each get two KO points, for a perfect victory!**"

The crowd went wild.

"Yeah, we did it! We totally won!" said Matt. "Nice work Linda!"

"Yeah, you too!" said Linda, totally absorbed in the moment. They both waved around at the crowd.

"**Congratulations, to our happy victors. Now, how about a kiss for the crowd hmm?**"

Linda and Matt gave the announcer a puzzled look, then looked at each other, confused.

"**How cute, they're shy. Kadabra, why don't you help them a little bit.**"

Matt and Linda started to glow purple, being controlled by the psychic powers. Linda tried to open her mouth to say something, but couldn't. The psychic was lifting them closer together. Closer, closer… They were both hovering a few feet from the ground. _What's going on! _Thought Linda.

Linda was suddenly only about 3 inches from Matt, his sparkling blue eyes looking around, obviously as confused as Linda was. _Wait, he didn't mean blow a kiss- he meant us kiss!_ Realized Linda. _What's with that?_

Kadabra's psychic was too strong. The two pulled together, lips touching. All the while, the crowd was cheering and yelling.

"Lucky son of a-" "Ugh no fair! I wanted him!" "Aww… how cute!"

Linda closed her eyes, trying to resist the psychic. _Something is seriously wrong_. As they kissed, they slowly swirled around in the air, softly rising. The crowd was still cheering. The psychic suddenly dropped them to the ground, and pushed them into the room they were in before the match.

--------------------------------

Jade laughed and cheered along with the crowd, concealed by the noise and massive amounts of people. She, her brother and a few other operatives were under cover just to make sure everything went according to plan.

"Stick with me Colin" Jade said to her brother, who was falling behind.

"I thought we could never say our names to anyone" he said, jogging to catch up. He had just turned 10, his small legs not enough to keep up with Jade. He was dressed in a male, smaller version of Jade's outfit, a dark red beanie with a white stripe, a dark red shirt, tan shorts, and sandals. His short, spiky hair was a dusty blonde color, unlike Jade's dark jet black. He had the same eyes though. He put gel in it in the front to form it up into a cow lick.

"It doesn't matter now," said Jade, "we're hidden in a large crowd. Let me see the article again, take a few pictures."

The fight was just beginning. Linda's Horsea and Matt's Mareep were battling their opponents weak Pokemon. Colin handed her the article and took out his new Super-Zoom Po-Camera. This was designed for Pokemon professors to take pictures of shy Pokemon from far, far away. Colin used it to take pictures of whatever he chose however. In this case, Linda and Matt. The boss gave him this camera, along with giving jade the new laptop.

Jade re-read the article again, looking at the pictures. Her boss gave her a digital editing program, where she took Colin's pictures of Linda and Matt and digitally shifted them to show them in a more romantic pose. One that worked perfectly was pictures of the two eating lunch. Matt put his elbow back on the chair and let his arm hang to the side. All Jade had to do was take a picture of Linda leaning on the front desk of the tournament's main building, cut out Linda and fit her snug next to Matt. It looked perfectly like Linda was leaning on Matt's shoulder with his arm around her.

Jade smiled. Dang, she was good. She remembered when she was just a newbie at all this stuff…

-Flashback-

_There was a tall, tan man with sandy blonde hair and a rough, deep voice. Near him was a dark haired girl about 13 and her small brother._

"_Now. Although young, you two have demonstrated great skill. I'm going to appoint you to Team Sand's J1 division. This is a tough job; it covers all areas in the Johto region from New Bark Town to Ecruteak City. Agent 22? Agent 23? Are you ready?"_

"_Yes sir" chorused the children._

"_You know, something about you two reminds me of an old rival of mine. He was a tough, perhaps the toughest gym leader in the Kanto Region."_

_The girl immediately knew what he was talking about. "Um… I've never been to the Kanto region. Neither has my brother."_

"_Oh?" said the man. "You should go some time. It's quite nice."_

_The girl relaxed a bit. "I'm sure" she said somewhat cheerfully. The man smiled, which wasn't very cheering._

"_Now go, you two. An agent will come to get you in a while. Pack all your things."_

_The kids hurriedly left._

"_Phew, that was a close one" said the younger boy._

"_Yeah, I guess our job in Blackthorn City reminded the boss too much of dad… oh well. We won't let it happen again."_

"_Dad sent us here so we could be free of speculations based upon his acts. He made us promise that no one would ever know we were related to him" he continued._

_The girl nodded. "And we'll keep that promise."_

-----------

A bit more drama in this chapter. Will try to update more frequently. BTW, you guys are in serious lack of reviewage. PLZ review and give positive (or negative) feedback.


	6. Chapter 6: An Unpleasant Surprize

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Chapter 6- Unpleasant Surprise

-------------------------------------------

Dazed, Linda got up from the ground and looked around. It seemed like her match had taken place a while ago. There were several people in the room with dark red shirts, dark red beanies and tan pants.

"H-Hello… Who are you guys?"

"That is for us to know and for you to find out" said a tall man with sandy blonde hair. "Agent 16, Agent 17, you know what to do."

Linda looked around, backing up nervously. "Wh-What are you doing? Who are you people? Where's Matt?

"You'll be seeing him in due time" said one of the people approaching her.

"Ge-Get away from me! EEEEEK!"

-----

Jade and Colin made their way to the west pre-match room in Arena 5.

"Sound's like everything's going according to plan" said Colin. Jade put her ear to the door. The cute boy was talking.

"What are you guys doing?" his voice said.

"Oh, you'll see young one" Jade recognized the boss's deep voice.

"What the- AAAGH!" Matt yelled. Jade could hear the sound of someone hitting the ground. Matt's voice sounded more faint. "Linda… wake… wake u-" Jade assumed he lost consciousness there. A female Team Sand member spoke up.

"What a handsome little lad" she had a slight Irish accent. "Maybe we should assign this one to Jade." She took Matt and placed him in a dark corner.

"She'd like that" added another woman with a giggle. Jade frowned.

"The other one is waking" said the boss.

"H-Hello… Who are you guys?"

"That is for us to know and you to find out" the boss's voice answered. "Agent 16, Agent 17, you know what to do."

"Wh-What are you doing? Who are you people? Where's Matt?"

"You'll be seeing him in due time" It was the voice of the woman who said 'She'd like that'.

"Ge-Get away from me! EEEEEK!"

_Finally, I don't have to track the two down, twist all the words they say, and edit pictures. They'll just do what we want now._

"Jad- Agent 22? We'd better get going. It's pretty late" said Colin.

Jade nodded, and they left for their quarters.

---------------

The next morning, after they woke up and had breakfast, they talked about how to use Matt and Linda to their advantage in their room.

"Well, besides doing dirty work, I don't really see what they're doing for us."

"Well for one, Linda and Matt are both very good looking, and with the high level Horsea, Oddish, Eevee and Mareep we gave them, they'll be unstoppable. They'd make a perfect roll model for the many novice trainers that live here in Cherry-Merry City or whatever it's called. They'll attract many paying spectators. Agent 15 told me-"

"Which one is that again?" interrupted Colin.

"The Irish one. Now don't interrupt. So anyway, she told me that Team Sand runs this tournament every year as their main income source, though they have others."

"Like stealing?"

"Yeah. They do this whole process every year. Find the best looking boy and girl that enters, pair them together and then use the boss's Kadabra to possess them, give them experienced Pokemon, and have them win every match."

"I guess we joined right after the last B-Tourney."

"Yeah."

Suddenly they heard a knock on the door.

"Yes?" said Colin.

"22! 23! We have them for you." It was Agent 15. Colin let her in, where she walked to the middle of the room.

"You need to equip them with the new Pokemon, give them their orders, and make sure nobody realizes what has happened to them. Many years ago, a girl with bright red hair and her Gyrados, Starmie, and Togepi realized what happened, and almost ruined us all. Luckily, we were able to wipe out almost all of her memory of the events. But we don't want something like this to happen again."

Jade and Colin nodded, and then two low ranked agents brought in Matt and Linda. They were staring with a blank face into the distance. Agent 15 and her two lackeys left, shutting the door loudly behind them.

"Okay… we better get started" said Colin. He grabbed Linda's arm and tugged her along, taking her to the grass Pokemon section to get an Oddish.

Jade wasn't in such a hurry. She looked at Matt closely for a moment. She was used to doing bad things in her time at Team Sand, but suddenly, she was feeling worse even than when she first started. He looked at Matt, who used to be so lively and excited, who was now slouched over, looking tired. The only side effect of Kadabra possessing people was their eyes. They went from whatever normal color they were, to grey.

_This is gonna be a problem_. Thought Jade. If something made Matt's looks stand out, it was his eyes. They _were_ a sparkling blue. _People will notice quickly. His eyes sparkled and shimmered with such a pretty blue color…_ Jade smacked herself on the face lightly. _This is no time to be day dreaming. Even though he is cute…_

Jade shook it off and grabbed Matt's arm, guiding him out of the room, down the elevator and into the Electric Pokemon facility.

---Flashback---

"_Agent 22 and 23" said the boss. "These are the Pokemon facilities. There are one for every single type."_

"_All seventeen?" said Colin. "What about the combination Pokemon?"_

"_Quite a smart boy. We have the combination Pokemon in each of the types."_

"_Oh, okay then. Do you have one of every Pokemon ever!"_

"_Yes. Except for one."_

"_Which is that?" asked Jade._

"_Mewtwo. But there is only one of him, so we wouldn't need a replacement one."_

"_Ah" said the siblings._

---End Flashback---

Jade had actually never been in a Pokemon facility. She only knew about them. When she dragged Matt inside the Electric Pokemon facility, she got a surprise.

There were electric Pokemon everywhere, running around, eating, drinking, whatever. There were many small cages, where the Pokemon were fed mass amounts of rare candies every day. As unhealthy as this was for the Pokemon, it won battles.

Since this was an electric Pokemon Facility, there were pieces of metal and fake electric currents everywhere. Looking around, Jade found her way to the front desk.

"Hello there 22. What does this handsome young boy need?"

Jade chuckled. "A Mareep, please."

"Okay" said the woman. She disappeared for a moment, then returned with a Pokeball. "Here you are, 22."

"Thanks" said Jade shortly before leaving. These facilities creeped her out. Matt's possessed body was moving slowly.

"Come ON!" Jade said pulling him. Suddenly, Jade tugged to hard, and they both fell to the ground, Jade on top of Matt.

She was only about 2 inches from his face. His eyes, normally sparkling a baby blue color, sparkled more the color of polished marble. She quickly got up, before someone saw. She lifted him up and kept walking out of the facility.

Jade, dragging along Matt picked up an Eevee also. As the walked, Jade gave the new Matt instructions.

"Now Matt" said Jade. "Can you understand me?"

Matt nodded solemnly without looking at her.

"Good. Tonight, and every night until the tournament is over, you need to win your match. But that isn't all."

Matt nodded solemnly again.

"Okay. Whenever interviewed, always give compliments to Linda. Perhaps, she's pretty, or nice, or smart, or cool or good at battling. Whatever you want to say. And after every victory…"

-------

"…kiss him on the cheek."

Colin was briefing Linda on what to do at the same time Jade was.

"You got all that? Win match, give compliments, and kiss on cheek. And remember, he'll put his arm around you right before you kiss him, that's your cue. Okay lets practice"

Colin stood up on a chair so he would be the same height as Matt. Linda pretended to be happy about winning a match, then Colin put his arm around Linda's shoulder, and then Linda kissed him on the cheek.

Colin hopped down. "Good. Do that, just with Matt, and not on a chair."

---

After Jade and Colin met up, they walked along the sidewalk; she passed a girl with dark brown hair with a black tank top and a miniskirt. She looked at Linda.

"Oh, hey blondie. Just so you know, I'm gonna kill you in the match tomorrow." The girl laughed.

_Who is this clown?_ Thought Jade.

"Oh, how rude of me not to introduce myself" said the girl, suddenly seeing Matt. She walked next to him and latched her arm onto his.

'Hey there cute. I'm Jorie, nice to meet you" said the girl, winking up at Matt.

_What a little flirt _thought Jade. She needed to do something before the girl noticed.

"Excuse me? These two need to get to the stadium right away" said Jade, unlatching the two's arms.

"Ugh! But like, we were totally making a connection! Right?" Jorie looked up at Matt.

"I have to go, sorry" said Matt in a monotonous voice.

"Bye Jorie" said Linda in a similar tone.

"Yeah, so you we'll be leaving now" said Jade. Jorie gave her a dark look then trotted away.

"That little sleaze!" said Jade. "Whatever, we need to get going."

Colin only nodded as the four continued.

----

"Okay, you guys remember the drill right?" said Colin.

Matt and Linda both nodded simultaneously, standing solemnly with their arms to their sides faced forward.

"Alright Belle, nice job!" said Linda, suddenly putting on a cheery, but fake, smile. They were doing a sort of "test run"

"Yeah, nice shot!" shouted Matt. He suddenly turned away. "Well, Linda did most of the work… she's cool that way.

Linda turned in the same fashion. "Yeah, Matt is pretty good. He's really nice too! And cute!" she added with a fake sounding giggle. Matt suddenly put his arm around Linda's shoulder, and Linda stood on her toes and kissed him lightly on the cheek. They suddenly took off the fake smiles, and resumed their straight, uniform stance.

"Good job" said Jade. "Now… go get 'em!" She suddenly pushed them out the door of the pre-match room and into the arena.

---------------------------

WOWSA- DEY BEEN POZESST!

Yup. Ain't that crazy? Anyway hoped you liked it and stay tuned for:

Chapter 7- Jade is realizing more and more problems with Team Sand, and goes out on a limb… a pretty big limb! But what will the consequences be?


	7. Chapter 7: Out on a Limb

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Chapter 7- Out on a Limb

----------------------------------

Jade sat deep in thought, watching as the super-Pokemon Linda and Matt were given were slaughtering their poor opponents.

_Dad wanted us out of Kanto so we didn't have to pay for his mistakes. But isn't that what were doing anyway? Maybe not his mistakes, but are we making mistakes of our own?_

"**Linda's Oddish has taken out Quilava in just one hit! She gets 3 KO points!"**

_And what about Matt and Linda? I've had to do a lot of things I wouldn't normally do here at Team Sand, Colin too, but for some reason I feel bad doing such things to these two. What is it about them?_

"**Matt and Linda have all four Pokemon going strong, but the opposing team only has one left!**"

_Colin must be feeling the same way… Maybe we should talk about our future at Team Sand. Or lack there of…_

"**Congradulations, Matt and Linda! You two love birds advance to the third round!**"

The crowd was beginning to file out, and Colin stood up.

"Well, all went according to plan. Tomorrow they will face off against that one gym leader. The one that people used to not be able to tell if he was a boy or girl? Yeah he got a girlfriend."

"Somehow…" said Jade distantly with a slight chuckle. Colin laughed.

"Yeah well he likes bug Pokemon. That should be an easy match. Bugs are bad."

"Yeah" Jade said. She was still thinking about Team Sand.

"Jade… is everything alright? You seem sad."

"I'm not sad, I was just thinking. You know about Team Sand."

"I know what you mean. You got to thinking that this is a wrong place for us. Sure we needed the money and a place to stay, but is this the right way to get it?"

_SH!_ Jade thought. _The microphone in my shirt is still on! They'll here us!_ She tried to make a STOP TALKING NOW! Gesture but he couldn't see her.

"You're right, maybe we are doing the wrong thing. I mean we've done loads of naughty things in our life, but the things at Team Sand have been just plain evil. I mean possessing people?" continued Colin.

Jade kept waving and mouthed 'The microphone is still on!' but he couldn't read it. She fumbled with her shirt for a moment then managed to crush it.

"Colin! The microphone in my shirt!"

"Oh no! You mean it was on that whole time!" he said with a horrified expression.

"Oh no… oh no oh NO!" said Jade anxiously.

"What should we do?"

"Let's just hope they weren't listening…"

----------------------------------

As Linda and Matt duked it out with their opponents, the Boss was listening intently on Jade's shirt mic.

"Jade? Is everything alright? You seem sad" it was the voice of 23. The boss suddenly leaned forward, turning up the volume on his speakers.

"I'm not sad, I was just thinking. You know, about Team Sand" said 22. The boss raised his brow.

"I know what you mean. You got to thinking that this is a wrong place for us. Sure we needed the money and a place to stay, but is this the right way to get it?"

The camera, little known to the other agents, that was hidden in their mic showed 22 waving her arms and swiping a finger by her neck as if to say Stop! But 23 didn't seem to notice. The boss's face got angrier and angrier as the boy continued.

"You're right, maybe we are doing the wrong thing. I mean we've done loads of naughty things in our life, but the things at Team Sand have been just plain evil. I mean possessing people?"

Suddenly panicking, 22 fumbled around with her shirt, bouncing and bumping the mic around. Then he lost reception, clearly the mic had been broken.

"15! 16! 17! We have… work to do!"

----------

"Well, let's go back to the dorms. We'll know if something is wrong then, and there's no use trying to hide from the boss. Either he heard or didn't" said Jade.

"Yeah I guess you're right" said Colin.

The two made their way back to the dorms, scared of what the boss may do. When they got there, they got a rude surprise.

As they walked back in their room, standing there was the boss, angry as the two had ever seen him. Next to him were agents 15-17, practically drooling from wanting to give out pain.

"Agent 22, Agent 23! You defy me! After all I've given you…"

"We're sorry sir… I…" Jade stopped herself.

"No! We're not sorry! What you do to people, and Pokemon for that matter is wrong! Wrong, wrong, _wrong!_"

"Don't be a fool, girl! We simply know what we want, what is wrong about that?"

"What is wrong?" Colin chimed in. "What _isn't_ wrong! You torture Pokemon, feel them unhealthy things, steal, manipulate people, even possess them!"

"You little brats! How dare you disobey my commands!" screamed the boss. He was moving closer towards them.

"Colin, run!" shouted Jade. She burst out the door, Colin close behind. They sprinted down the hall way, jumped down the stairs and out the door.

As they kept running, Jade glanced behind her back repeatedly. Agents 16 and 17 were running after them, looking angry.

"We… have to try….to lose them" said Colin between breaths.

Jade ran down the brick path past the stadiums, and took many sharp turns. The sun had just disappeared behind a mountain in the distance and there were people everywhere leaving the matches. _I hope I'm not too late_ said Jade.

"Colin? Before we leave… we need to make things right. I know a way to break Kadabra's hold on Linda and Matt. I- Colin?" Jade looked around.

He was nowhere to be found.

---------

"Curses, we lost them! Wait, I see 23!" said 16. They were to the side of the main arena, and this was in the very middle of the island. They saw the boy resting against the side of the arena, sitting and catching his breath. The girl wasn't there though…

"C'mon, we can sneak up on him! Since he'll try to escape when we catch him, we won't be able to use him for field assignments…"

"You're thinking to far ahead. Let's get him!"

---------

A tear fell down Jade's face. _Its no use… I saw 17 holding Colin… I'll get him back someday…_ Jade gave a fierce glare in the direction she saw 17 go.

_But I'll need some help. And I know just the people._ Jade stood back up from the wet grassy grounds of Arena 4.

_If all is going according to plan, they are still being interviewed in Arena 3. As long as I can get there at the right time, I can catch them on their way out._

Just as Jade turned the corner, she saw two figures stepping out of the back doorway labeled "Arena 3" A blonde girl and a tall boy. _That must be them…_

She ran forward to meet them. They approached her, a fake anger in their eyes.

"You have betrayed us" said Matt, but it was not his voice. It was the voice of the boss.

"I knew you were trouble when I first saw you" snapped Linda, but it was Agent 16's voice.

Jade looked at them with surprise. _The boss's Kadabra must be controlling them to say this. But not for long. I hope this works…_

Jade, ignoring the rants of Agent 16 and the boss, walked up to Matt, looked at him straight in the eyes, stood up and kissed him.

---Flashback---

_Jade and Colin were walking back from their first assignment with Agent 15. _

"_So can anyone besides the boss break Kadabra's hold on people?" asked Jade._

"_Well I heard a rumor from some other agents that if someone the age and opposite sex of one of the people being 'possessed', per say, and they looked them in the eye and kissed them fiercely, their mind will start trying to snap back into reality, breaking Kadabra's spell. This hasn't ever happened yet though, Team Sand agents make sure no one gets to close to his victims."_

"_But usually the people the boss possesses he makes the world believe they are a couple. So why would anyone kiss them?" asked Colin._

"_Well that's _why _he makes the world believe they're a couple so no one kisses them. That is, unless they know the person is being controlled."_

_Jade pondered this as she walked along…_

---End Flashback---

She kept staring into his eyes, hoping to see a spark of blue return. Matt fell to the ground, holding his head, hands through his still bright red hair.

"Oh… Wh-Where am I?" he muttered in a low groggy voice.

_It worked! I think…_ Thought Jade cheerfully. She smiled.

"How DARE you, insolent girl!" Linda was still speaking with the bitter voice of Agent 16. She started running back to the Team Sand rooms.

Jade frowned. _At least I got one of them._ She looked down at Matt, the sun now completely disappeared, it was hard to see if his eyes had returned to normal, the sure sign Kadabra's power was gone. He closed his eyes, asleep.

_That's odd._ Thought Jade. _Why did he fall asleep? Oh this was a stupid idea. Why did I have to suddenly rebel? I could have had a peaceful escape but I had to get caught up in my argument against the boss? And now I've just made things worse. Sure _I _escaped but what about Colin? And now I made things worse for poor Matt, separating him from Linda. We're both alone… I guess we should stick together._

"Grmmm sshrmm…" Matt was waking up groggily. Jade looked at him hopefully.

"Wh- where am I?" he looked up at Jade. Sure enough, his eyes had regained their baby blue glisten. "You… you're the girl that brought us to our match! Then after it I was controlled by some psychic Pokemon… then Linda, we kissed and then…" he held his head again.

"Let me explain fully. I'm Agen- I mean Jade. I'm Jade. I'm… used to be a member of an organization called Team Sand. I realized what this Team Sand does is evil. They have taken my brother, who tried to escape with me. I made it, but he didn't. The boss of Team Sand doesn't just forget people. We are both in danger, and so is my brother."

"Wow, that's awful. But… why am I in danger?" asked Matt.

"Well, after you're match and my ex-boss's Kadabra controlling you, it possessed your body completely, and your partner's too."

"Oh no, Linda… I've got to help her somehow!"

"Well it seems we're both in the same predicament then." Jade said, helping Matt up from the ground. "Team Sand is looking for us, and they have a person each of us want…"

"Maybe we should stick together then. I'm Matt, but I guess you knew that. Where would you say this 'Team Sand' is headed?"

--------------------------------------

Huzzah! Matt is safe! But what about Linda, and Colin? Where will they end up? Stick around for Chapter 8!

REVEIW PLEASE, I'm in need of feedback! Even if you think it sucks!


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